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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Penn State football was hit with a four-year postseason ban, the loss of 40 scholarships over four years and a $60 million fine as a result of the cover up in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. In addition, all Penn State wins from 1998-2011 will be vacated. The fine is equal to one year’s gross revenue. The NCAA discussed the death penalty, according to president Mark Emmert, but it was not applied.

Emmert made the announcement Monday morning in a landmark press conference at the NCAA headquarters. Never before at the highest level of college athletics has a school been penalized this severely without a formal investigation by the enforcement division and a hearing before the infractions committee. Emmert explained that his authority to apply the sanctions came from association’s two governing bodies — the executive committee and board of directors.

The penalties cripple Penn State football, putting it as close to the death penalty without the NCAA actually applying the rarely-used sanction. The program will be limited to 15 scholarships beginning for the next four years beginning in 2013. The normal limit is 25 per year. Current Penn State players will immediately be allowed to transfer without sitting out a year, Emmert said.